Ongoing Campaign to Demolish the Lenin Mausoleum

This campaign was started even before Putin came to power, but it was somehow vague and very muted for obvious reasons. First the campaign was to demonize Stalin but now, in the present regime of Putin, there are official voices head from his government to demolish the Mausoleum on the Red Square and re-bury the body of V.I. Lenin in a "Christian Burial" outside of Red Square.

There are constant protests by the Soviet people who have started a vigil to prevent this crime against the founder of the Soviet State and there is also an organization that is organizing these protests regularly. Soviet patriots collect funds to upkeep the preservation of the Mausoleum. The Russian regime lies when it said that, "it alone spends money for the upkeep of the Mausoleum."

It is interesting that President Putin has so far kept very mum about this vile campaign, not uttering a word about this viciousness against Lenin’s body removal from the Mausoleum and its demolition! Why?

Now, even Gennady Zyuganov, head of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation warned that, "The CPRF would organize and stage massive disobedience actions if the authorities try to remove the body from the mausoleum." But, where was the CPRF all these years when the Soviet people staged protests constantly?

Sometimes I wonder as to where does the International Communist movement stand on this question of Lenin and the Mausoleum? After all, Lenin was not just a Soviet leader and patriot, a Marxist and revolutionary! Lenin was an Internationalist Marxist leader, and his teachings are as relevant today as they were before.

We all know and appreciate the regular International Communist Seminars and Meetings that are held to discuss, debate and exchange experiences in the struggles against Imperialism and the US New World Order and the struggle for Socialism.

The latest such gathering was held in Greece at the end of November, where participants from 61 countries gathered. Many resolutions were discussed and adopted. Many actions were planned for the future and for further meetings.

Unfortunately, absent from the resolutions that were adopted were resolutions that are very important for the international progressive movement:

(1) Resolution that condemns the present campaign by the Russian government to rebury the body of Lenin from the Mausoleum on the Red Square. After all, Lenin was and is still considered a world leader of the working class. Surely Communists at the Seminar know that UNESCO had declared the Lenin Mausoleum as a historical site to be preserved.

(2) It would have been necessary to adopt a Resolution ON ALL Political Prisoners that are held by capitalism-imperialism around the world, including scores that are languishing and being tortured in jails in former Soviet Union.

Yes – meetings and seminars are very important and necessary, but, if they produce only words but not actions, then such gatherings, important as they are, become social affairs only.